Benefit cap

poppy12345

They can look at claiming a discretionary housing payment (DHP) from their local Authority. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/claiming-discretionary-housing-payments/claiming-discretionary-housing-payments

There's no guarantee they will get it but you have to apply to find out. They may also need to get some help with filling out the forms because they are quite complex and i'm speaking from experience here. If successful they are only awarded it for a short period of time and then they will need to reapply.

pmlindyloo

Abram918 said:

There's actually not very much more to the situation as I've described it. Person (single adult) is living in a high rent place and are making up the shortfall from their JSA. Leaving them with about £35 to live on, Not the full 74.70. Telling them to move to somewhere cheaper has no effect and they claim that can manage on 35. But they clearly can't. My reason for the original post was to see if there were some way for the Department to put pressure on them. I know that sounds wrong. Ultimately I guess this is not a benefits issue! But thanks to everyone for responding!

You may be right that this isn’t a benefits issue.
On the face of it you are probably right and £35 a week isn’t enough to cover even the bare necessities - food, utilities and council tax.
Do let them know about the Discretionary Housing Payment.
If they have a fixed term tenancy agreement then payment of the DHP is more likely until that agreement ends.
However, unless there are other special circumstances (eg disability) then a DHP may not be given if the claimant could move to a cheaper place.
You say they won’t move to a cheaper place which suggests....
working cash in hand
borrowing money
getting into debt

Unless your friend is willing to ‘share’ you can only pass on information - ‘you can lead a horse to water ......’